U.S. Department
of Justice
Division Heads
Chief of the Civil Division
David M. Harris
David Harris is the Chief of the Civil Division. Mr. Harris is a graduate of UCLA and USC Law School. He joined the Office in the Civil Fraud Section in 2008 after spending almost 20 years in private practice where, as an equity partner, he obtained extensive management experience and handled a wide variety of civil matters. As part of that practice, Mr. Harris tried 9 civil matters. He gained additional management experience as the Deputy Chief of the Civil Fraud Section, and as Civil Healthcare Fraud Coordinator where he served for 3 years. As Civil Healthcare Fraud Coordinator, Mr. Harris brought a real appreciation for the ways in which technology and data can improve our ability to work our cases. He has had tremendous success in his Civil Fraud cases, and during his tenure as Civil Fraud Deputy Chief and Civil Healthcare Fraud Coordinator, the Civil Fraud Section collectively recovered in excess of $300 million and has saved taxpayers millions of dollars more through proactive enforcement efforts.
Acting Chief of the Criminal Division
Alexander Schwab
Since joining the Office in September 2013, Alexander has served in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section, the Major Frauds Section, and the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force. His more than a dozen jury trials include sanctions violations by a Latin music company and its CEO, a mortgage elimination scam targeting vulnerable homeowners, racketeering crimes by street gangs aligned with the Mexican Mafia, and an international bribery scheme involving a Southern California attorney and a Swiss oil company. Alexander’s casework has ranged from the largest Ponzi scheme in the district’s history to securing extradition of members of international drug trafficking organizations from four continents to Wells Fargo’s fake account scandal, which resulted in a $3 billion global settlement and the conviction of the bank’s head of retail banking for obstructing regulators. For his work, Alexander has received the Attorney General’s Award and was honored by IRS-CI as Southern California’s “Attorney of the Year” for 2024.
Alexander graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School, where he was an articles editor of the Yale Law Journal, won the school’s moot court competition, and received the award for best individual brief. Following law school, Alexander clerked for the Honorable Steven M. Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Honorable Janice Rogers Brown on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Chief of the National Security Division
Ian Yanniello
Ian Yanniello joined the Office in 2018 and has been a key contributor in the Office’s efforts to mitigate violent crime and protect the Central District. Before his current role, Ian served in other leadership roles in the Office, including Chief of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Chief of the General Crimes Section. Among other district-wide initiatives, Ian helped spearhead Operation Safe Cities, which significantly increased federal prosecutions of violent, recidivist offenders. Ian has investigated and prosecuted a variety of cases, including terrorism and national security matters, complex financial crimes, and murder and death-resulting cases. His jury trials include a wire fraud and tax evasion case against a former lawyer who embezzled millions from clients, a six-week securities fraud and market manipulation trial against a stockbroker, and a fentanyl distribution case that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old victim, among others.
Prior to joining the Office, Ian clerked for the Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Mary H. Murguia, who is currently Chief Judge for the Ninth Circuit. Ian is a graduate of Loyola Law School and has a Biomedical Engineering degree from the University of Southern California.